Americans Becoming Skeptical of Holocaust

[Zorro]

It's a shame if the subject isn't being taught at all in schools but not being taught in schools shouldn't automatically discredit something. People should put an effort in researching as it's so easy now to find out things in so many ways.

Growing up in the 90's, it was taught in school for a decent enough extent but I didn't find out most things until doing research online and reading a book after the first X-Men film made me extra curious

If people are skeptical because of a conspiracy theory like the earth being flat then that just pisses me off and makes me sad at the same time

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Remember when the History Channel covered WW2 constantly instead of aliens?

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Some schools probably arent teaching it because it is so horrific and uncomfortable. Cant have the kiddies getting uncomfortable. They want to sugarcoat history. Like some textbooks acting like slaves were just workers.

Or they're borderline far right themselves and don't like demonizing the Nazis.

 

[tzarinna]

I dated a nonbeliever. They walk among us.

 

[Schlosser85]

I wouldn’t date someone with such reprehensible beliefs.

 

[Teelie]

I was taught about it and it was not sugarcoated but that was also the in the 80's through mid 90's. I don't know what the past 25 years of education has been like. Judging by that though, it has started failing even beyond the cynical sentiment of before where people said it was failing. Not teaching this kind of stuff is wrong.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

So they’re finally trying to downplay and sugarcoat the Holocaust like they’ve been doing to slavery for all this time?

Wow. The times really are a changing.

 

[Dr.]

There are some curious statistics cited in this article. On the one hand:

“…93 percent of those asked think the Holocaust should be taught in schools, while 96 percent believe that the genocide happened.”

So in terms of recognizing historical reality, those figures sound encouraging. But then, from whence comes the “1/3 of Americans don’t think 6 million Jews were murdered” headline? Turns out, it’s a dispute over the specific numbers:

“31 percent of the Americans surveyed, and 41 percent of millennials within that group, do not believe that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust and think the real death toll is at least 2 million lower.”

Now in any other context, the ethnic extermination of 4 million people would be cause for legitimate outrage and horror. But some seem to take offense that this number has been “exaggerated” to 6 million. This is truly bizarre. Indeed, total denial (that no holocaust took place) is almost more comprehensible because… well, there are plenty of kooks in the world who believe nutty conspiracy theories. But to accept the basic facts and then get worked up over 4 vs. 6 million is… odd.

FYI: reputable historians put the Holocaust death toll at ~ 5.3 million to 5.9 million Jews. (Since many personal records and census data were destroyed at the same time as the murders, exact figures are hard to come by.) Additionally, it’s estimated that 11 million non-Jews (Soviet civilians, Soviet POWs, Catholic Poles, Serbs, Romani, the disabled, gays, others) were exterminated. Whether these additional victims should be included within the Holocaust is a matter of debate. Certainly, 17 million deaths is a holocaust.

 

[Catoti]

As a European and having visited Auschwitz, it’s unthinkable to me that people would doubt the holocaust happening or try to downplay the horrors that happened there by claiming the numbers are incorrect.

Even if it was 1million people killed, that’s still horrific!

American or not...trying to deny the Holocaust when there’s so much freaking proof of it is ignorance at its finest.

 

[Schlosser85]

It’s willful, deliberate ignorance. The big Holocaust deniers who fan the flames know it happened and they approve of it happening, but they can’t quite come right out and say that so they do the next best thing and just deny it altogether.

 

[Silvermoth]

I remember I was playing cards against humanity at a party once and someone asked me what “aushwitz” meant. Scared the hell out of me and still does. Just a few years later people like that got to vote on if people like me got equal rights. Lucky we scraped through but imagine making a decision like that not knowing the consequences of hate

 

[Catoti]

Is this only an American issue, or does it happen elsewhere in North America or elsewhere? Because I can't imagine being skeptical of the holocause being an issue in Europe, or at least as far as I've seen/researched. (I know the thread title is about Americans but I'm curious)

 

[Teelie]

It is an issue everywhere but more so in the U.S. where the impact was less felt.

 

[Dr.]

My impression is that Holocaust denial (though a minority view) is fairly widespread. However, in many western jurisdictions (Europe, Canada, etc.), it’s often considered a form of hate speech. So to the extent that denial exists, it assumes a more subversive/“underground” character. But the US has more robust freedom-of-speech laws; thus, denial can be more openly expressed in various media and through opinion polls.

 

[Flint Marko]

Is this only an American issue, or does it happen elsewhere in North America or elsewhere? Because I can't imagine being skeptical of the holocause being an issue in Europe, or at least as far as I've seen/researched. (I know the thread title is about Americans but I'm curious)

I believe it’s a growing issue worldwide. The further we get away from the Holocaust the easier it is to push out of our minds. I think it’s just especially prevalent now in America given the current abundance of anti-intellectualism and bad-faith “free speech” arguments.

Anyone who denies it ultimately wants it to happen again.

 

[Catoti]

I believe it’s a growing issue worldwide. The further we get away from the Holocaust the easier it is to push out of our minds. I think it’s just especially prevalent now in America given the current abundance of anti-intellectualism and bad-faith “free speech” arguments.

Anyone who denies it ultimately wants it to happen again.

That's really, really worrying, but I do think that's a cycle in history...

 

[Prison Mike]

I’m actually surprised by this. All through middle and high school we only talked about the American Revolutionary War and WWII. They basically drilled it into our heads. We didn’t really go over other world histories and cultures (which I this a negative about the American school system).

 

[NotNickFury]

So, you think that in the last 8 months everyone changed their minds and now whole heartedly believe it happened?

No, but I think if I'm going to talk about news that it'd be something recent.